


Secrets

by pillowcreek



Category: The Bridge (Podcast)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Storms, also Bertie has anxiety that's mentioned very briefly, this is just a soft cute story okay, though not really explicitly, with very very minor angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 20:16:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10749024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pillowcreek/pseuds/pillowcreek
Summary: Bertie can't sleep because of a storm so he lies awake contemplating the man sleeping in bed next to him.





	Secrets

Bertie curled up deeper into the blankets on their bed. The fierce howl of the wind outside had woken him up, and he could see the rain hitting the window from where he lay in bed. Roger was curled up next to him, the warmth of his back pressing against Bertie’s own. It was comforting to have someone there next to him as a loud clap of thunder came and lightning lit up the room. 

He rolled over onto his back to look over at his partner. He seemed to still be sleeping, though the storm had caused him to retreat further into the blankets. Bertie watched him for a moment, wondering if Roger would wake up if he were to put his arms around him. He was cold even underneath the thick blanket, and he could feel warmth radiating off of the other man. It was just so tempting… 

He goes for it. 

There’s a slight grumble from Roger, but otherwise he gave no indication that Bertie had bothered him. He snuggled closer to him, smiling softly against his back. He was warm and comforting, like hugging a pillow. A very grumpy pillow. 

Roger would kill him if he ever told Etta about this. 

The rain picked up outside and Bertie closed his eyes tightly, trying to wish the storm away. Storms out on the Bridge were never fun, even if it was just a thunderstorm. They had gotten through worse before, but he still wished that it would lay up so that he could sleep. He needed to be well rested tomorrow, or else he wouldn’t be able to do his job right and the others would be disappointed in him. 

The weather refused to cooperate with him though, and the thunder began to rumble louder and louder. The rain seemed almost deafening by that point, and Bertie was about ready to give up on sleep and just go down to the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate. 

Roger shifted underneath his arm, rolling over to face him. “Bertie?” he mumbled tiredly, barely audible over the sound of the rain and wind. 

Bertie smiled softly. Roger always looked so different when he was half-asleep, his dark hair messed up and his eyes unfocused and cloudy. “I’m here.” 

“Couldn’t sleep?” 

He shook his head. “The storm was too loud.” 

“Hm.” Roger wraps his arms around Bertie, pulling him close to his chest. It was even warmer there than it had been against his back, tucked safely away from the wind and monsters. Bertie closes his eyes, revelling in the feeling, as Roger pulls the blankets over them, tangling his legs with his partner’s. 

Roger’s breathing soon deepened and slowed, signifying that he had fallen asleep again. Bertie kept his eyes closed, trying to follow him, but sleep continued to evade him. He could hear the waves crashing against the Watchtower below, and wished that he could block them out. They were too loud though. 

It was all too loud. 

He pulled back from Roger slightly, resting his head on the pillow next to him rather than tucked under his chin. He looked so gentle when he slept, completely different than the man he was during the day. During the day he looked angry and like he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you if you messed with his Watchtower or his crew. Especially if you messed with his crew. But at night he looked like he couldn’t hurt a fly. He looked a lot less stressed too. 

Bertie had tried asking Roger why he was on the Bridge before. All he had ever gotten as an answer was that he had lost a bet, but Bertie suspected that it was more than that. That there was something deeper, maybe darker, lurking behind the story. He tried not to worry about it too much. Roger would tell him one day if he wanted to. 

But sometimes it felt unfair. Roger knew why he was here. Or, part of the reason at least. It was right there in his personal file. But Bertie was stuck just waiting for the other man to trust him enough to tell him. That was hardly fair. 

He sometimes wondered what she would have thought of Roger. Would she have liked him? Would she have thought he was good enough to succeed her? Would she have been angry that he moved on? Would she have been surprised? 

He liked to think that she would have been happy for him. That she would be glad that he had moved on and was happy again. But he always worried that it was too soon. It had been years, sure, but sometimes… Sometimes years felt like just hours. 

And it wasn’t like he had just forgotten about her. He still remembered. He would always remember. Life just moved forward, continuing as though nothing had happened. 

As annoyed as he was by the unfairness of it all, he was usually glad that Roger knew why he was out here. It meant that he didn’t have to explain anything. He didn’t have to tell him why he wanted to take things so slowly. 

He had tried to explain it once, back when they first got together. Everything had felt like just a little too much one day, like there was just a little too much pressure on his neck and it was slowly closing in. 

He of course had panicked and immediately began babbling to Roger about how things were moving so quickly and it wasn’t that he didn’t care for him it was just that he had been in a really serious relationship before like, lifetime serious, and it had ended in- 

Roger had cut him off. “I know,” he said. 

Bertie had stared at him, confused. “What?” 

He sighed heavily. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I _know._ I know what happened before. It’s fine. Believe me, it’s fine.” 

“Oh. So you don’t mind if this takes a while?” 

“Trust me Bertie, I’ve got all the time in the world.” He smiled then, like he had just told a particularly funny joke that only he got. 

Bertie still didn’t understand. But he was thankful for the other man’s patience. Especially since Roger wasn’t usually what one would think of as patient. But Bertie seemed to matter to him, so it seemed like he was willing to do whatever it took to make the relationship work. 

Bertie raised his hand from where it was resting on Roger’s waist, and softly runs it through his hair. He let out a soft noise and turned his head towards his touch. Bertie smiled softly. 

_I guess I’ll just have to be willing to try as well. Secrets or no secrets._

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully this wasn't too ooc and was a nice little story to start off The Bridge's AO3 collection. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr @pillowcreeks


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